Make Your Old Trays Look New

Collectors Serving Tray

Collectors Serving Tray

 

 

I love this idea! I happen to think that serving trays add a touch of class to any environment even if they are just purely decorative. I like even more that you won’t have to go out and buy one you can make your own out of an old serving tray you want to spruce up or if you find an unfinished one you can now make it your way.

 

Supplies:
Old Serving Tray (or new unfinished tray)
Collectible Cards, Magazine Cut outs or Playing Cards
Eco-Friendly Crafting Glue
Eco-Friendly Spray Adhesive
Clear Gloss EZ paint (an eco-friendly spray paint, if you have clear gloss spray paint at home any will do)
Crafty odds and ends you have been holding on to.

 

Instructions:
1. If you have an unfinished wood tray make sure it is sanded and smooth before starting to decorate.
2. Find your decorations. Whether you have playing cards, collectible cards (I would kind of like to see one done in Garbage Pail Kids cards lol). Try to plot out your decorating placement and strategy before gluing anything to the tray to make sure it looks right and fits together nicely.
3. Once you have decided on placement you can move on to gluing your items to the tray with the eco-friendly crafting glue (You can use hot glue or anykind of glue you have at home. The point is to use what you already have at home and not buy more.)
4. After everything is glued and has set for 10-15 minutes, spray the entire tray with spray adhesive just to make sure everything is secured to the tray. This also helps if you have glues gems or anything that isn’t completely flat onto the tray.
5. Once you have let the spray adhesive set for another 10 minutes or so you can begin to spray the tray with the clear gloss spray paint. I suggest multiple coats only because you plan on washing this item repeatedly after uses and you want to make sure you can keep the tray looking pretty and lasting as long as possible.

beers not bombs bottle opener

New Look For Old Plates

New Look For Old Plates

New Look For Old Plates

 

 

If you have old plates at home or mismatched sets instead of throwing them out why not spruce them up! I have seen these in a few different places and thought this is an amazing idea if you are a crafter or even if you want to get some new home decor.

 

 

 

Supplies:
Recycled Sticker Paper
Spray Paint
Glue Gun
Craft odds & ends you have from around the house

Instructions:

1. Find the silhouette images you like on line and print them out on the recycled sticker paper.
2. Place the sticker on the plate in the desired area.
3. Spray the plates any color or combination of colors you want.
4. Let the plates dry for 5 to 10 minutes depending on colors and coats
5. Add any odds and ends you can find from around the house to spruce up your plates. (ie ribbons, sequins, broken jewelry)

Reclaimed Wood Organizer

Reclaimed Vintage House Wood Organizer with drawer

Reclaimed Wood Organizer

I keep telling you how school is here and getting ready is a must. Whether you are going away to school or just need to get better organized Chaba has designed a unique way of getting it done. Chaba’s Reclaimed Wood Organizer can help you keep your school work or project junk in one organized area with no mess and nothing getting lost.

About:

The word Chaba represents the beautiful Hibiscus flower that grows widely throughout Thailand and other parts of the Pacific. We take pride in our RECYCLED WOOD products. Why cut down trees when we can re use old ones. We retrieve the old wood from torn down buildings, schools, boats, and homes in Thailand.
We’ve turned something old, and turned it into a new unique form of art and home or office decor. Our handmade recycled wood products is reclaimed and refinished to perfection.
Each frame and accent item is one of a kind and in effect, an artifact due to the process of its creation. We are proud that these frames and other decor pieces are used to capture the memories, art, and the essence of life whilst being entirely eco-friendly. Chaba Decor promotes sustainability and fair trade by purchasing wood pieces from local woodworkers who set out to collect wood from torn down building sites including some old Tsunami wreckages. We then employ local artisans to make our items using their original craft and manufacturing methods.

Bamboo Salad Hand Set

Bamboo Salad Set

Bamboo Salad Set

I have always loved these! I’ve seen bamboo salad mixers before but I love the over sized ones. Buy Greens Bamboo Salad set is perfect as a housewarming gift or for yourself. Having cute salad sets could even get you to eat more salads which is always a good thing. Being that the set is made from bamboo ,which is one of the most sustainable materials in the world, you can feel safe and secure you have purchased the right product and made more than just the healthy choice.

Product Info:
Serve salads easily with these 100% bamboo salad hands. Our 2 Piece Bamboo Salad Hand Set are light in color. These stylish salad servers will be a statement of eco-friendly style.
These 2 Piece Bamboo Salad Hand Set and other bamboo are durable, safe and environmentally- friendly. Stronger than oak, bamboo is a sustainable hardwood that reaches full maturity in four years, renews itself quickly and doesn’t require the use of pesticides.

Eco-Mop

Eco-Mop

Eco-Mop

We have all sorts of green cleaning products to use and this is just one more. Now you can make your cleaning just that much more green when you use an Eco-Mop made completely from recycled materials. Eco-Mop heads are less expensive than non-recycled mops.
Over the weekend I was trying to find a new mop and couldn’t find anything remotely eco-friendly at my local stores. The one thing I did notice however was that mops and mop heads aren’t cheap. I understand they are reusable and should last a decent amount of time but some were almost $20 for a mop head! Now you can step up your green cleaning with a safe and savvy Eco-Mop.

Product Description:
Four-ply mop head with engineered fibers made entirely from recycled material. Absorbs more than four times its weight in water. Looped ends reduce unraveling, fraying and lint. Head Type: Wet Mop; Application: Floors; Mop Head Style: Looped End; Mop Head Size: Medium.

TheGreenOffice.com - Green products. Great prices.

Oil Drum Art

I really just love peacocks which is why I am featuring this item today! It has plenty of amazing green qualities but just look at the pretty peacock! Gifts with Humanity find some of the most beautiful pieces I have seen yet. You can give the oil drum art as a gift or keep it for yourself but either way you are helping a country much in need and supporting art as well as green practices!

Oil Drum Peacock

Unique Handmade Gifts and Jewelry. 100% Fair Trade! GiftsWithHumanity .com

About the Artisans:
Carlo Brutus and Eugene Jacques are two of the many artisans in Croix des Bouquets, an area of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti known for artisans who make oil drum art. Eugene’s shed is tucked behind several others and yields unique three-dimensional masks with cogs and bicycle chains for earrings. Each piece is a work of art and signed with “Eugene”. Carlo has what seemed like hundreds of different design of the ubiquitous round steel drum artworks hanging from every inch of wall space in his tiny warehouse.
The Diaspora of Haitians has spread the designs and skills of Oil Drum art throughout the Caribbean but the art is truly Haitian. Old oil drums are no longer readily available and are imported into Haiti by container and sold to the artisans. Even though cheaper, more readily available steel sheets could be used, artisans rely on the used drums for the patina in their art.

Gifts With Humanity - You Shop We Donate

Vers iPod Classic Cases

I love these!! Vers has bamboo cases for your iPod, iPad, iTouch, iPod Nano & iPhone. These are way prettier than any bling-ed out case you could have. You can even decorate them yourself if you like. The natural bamboo look is always the most appealing to me. There is something about bamboo that is so clean and classic. It can’t go out of style. Since bamboo is one of the most renewable resources on the planet you are doing us all a favor by purchasing and using one of these cases.

Bamboo iPod Case

Bamboo iPod Case

Product Description:
Every Vers wood case is steel reinforced and comes with a soft, scratch resistant lining, and depending on the case design, there are openings for the headphone jack and the charging port.
As with all of their wood sound systems and accessories, for every tree we use in production, we plant 100 through our long-time partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation.
Specifications
- Hand-crafted from solid hardwoods or Bamboo
- Steel pin reinforced corners for added strength
- Soft, scratch-resistant lining
- Durable UV & moisture-resistant clear coat
- Large radii for easy pocket & bag access
- 2.8″ (70 mm) W

Your Trusted Source for Green Products

Are Your Pots Safe?

I know most of us greenies are all about organic and local food for our bodies but what about the tools we use to cook and prepare our food? How safe are all of the items we use? Who knows, I have no idea what my pots are made of or where they really came from. I have some expensive ones that were gifts and cheap ones I bought for last minute reasons. I have never really considered what I am cooking in may not be safe at all.

Did you know:
When heated, Teflon emits toxic particles and gasses, linked to countless human health illnesses. Aluminum cookware has raised health concerns due to its effect on the human nervous system and is linked to Alzheimer’s Disease. Stainless steel contains both chromium and nickel, (the 18/8 stainless referring to the percentage of each element contained). Both of these substances in the form they are used to make stainless steel are considered toxic to humans, causing a wide range of adverse health effects.
Green Cooking Pots are made of enameled cast iron and are free of any chemicals, making them a great alternative to potentially toxic cookware. Green Cooking Pots and skillets make healthy cooking affordable and simple. Enameled cast iron absorbs heat and distributes it evenly, creating an efficient cooking experience, whether it is the slow roasting of vegetables or the simmering of soups. They can be used on any heat source including the oven for casseroles or baking bread.”

I have never actually thought of my pots and pans of cute but an added bonus to purchasing Green Cooking Potsare super cute and colorful! That may not mean much to you but I absolutely love color where ever I can get it so these pots have me way excited. I will say that the pots are moderately priced so to buy a bunch at once may not be a reasonable option for everyone but once your old pots are ready to be recycled you can purchase piece by piece or if you are soon to be married think about putting Green Cooking Pots on your registry.

Confettii Wallpaper

As if I couldn’t love Ecoist anymore they have seriously stepped up their game! They have made recycled candy wrapper Confetti Wallpaper! Another super cool added bonus it attaches and detaches with velcro! Omg do I love this store!!  I would certainly be the person who would do entire walls in my home with these but the accent shown below is super hot! I cannot wait to see what other colors and designs of Ecoist Confetti Wallpaper are to come!

Confetti Wallpaper

Confetti Wallpaper

Another thing I love about Ecoist is they are always doing something new. I know for many green businesses it is difficult to constantly produce new items because they are small businesses and products are usually handmade but Ecoist really makes moves. Every time I go to their site they have something new and more creative than their last creation. If you haven’t checked them out yet you are seriously missing out!

The Cleaner Kitchen Kit

The Cleaner Kitchen Kit

The Cleaner Kitchen Kit

- Protect and Preserve your Plate with EAT CLEANER All Natural Food Wash + Wipes. Tasteless. Odorless. Convenient. Effective. Safe.

Eat Cleaneris a company who wholeheartedly believed that food and health go hand and hand. Most would think that is a no brainer but today especially living in America where every fast food joint is pushing “healthy” choices your way it is easy to get confused or lost in the garbage. Eat Cleaner makes it their missing to set the record straight and bring you products that will help you stay safe and healthy.
Eat Cleaner’s Clean Kitchen Kit is a great way to get yourself started eating cleaner! The kit includes their fruit and vegetable wash, seafood and poultry wash, on the go fruit and veggie wipes & a wash + dryer kit!
The Clean Kitchen wipes are great for moms on the go to wipe snacks down before they get eaten or even at home. It’s important to teach children early about food cleanliness. You could even pack the wipes in their lunches. As for the at home washes I always wash my fruit and veggies obsessively and never really feel they are clean enough that goes double for any poultry or fish we eat. I sometimes hear rising poultry or fish is unnecessary because cooking will kill any bacteria or germs but I don’t buy it.
Try the Eat Cleaner Clean Kitchen Kit and tell me how you like it!

About Eat Cleaner:

When it comes to health, we all want to do the right thing but half-truths and inconclusive information can clutter an otherwise logical vision. Our Eat Cleaner mission is to set the record straight on what’s on our plates and help everyone take matters into their own hands.  It goes beyond a product. It’s a way of life.